Flexible circuits, also known as flat cable or flexible printed circuits, comprise flat flexible conductors, usually copper, that are arranged side by side on a thin, flexible sheet or film of plastic insulation such as polyethylene. The flexible conductors may also be embedded in the plastic insulator or sandwiched between two flexible sheets of plastic insulation that are bonded together.
Flexible circuits commonly have a terminal portion where the plastic insulation is removed to expose at least one surface of the flat flexible conductors so that the flat flexible conductors can be connected to other conductors electrically. These other conductors can take the form of sheet metal terminals, electrical wires or cables, the flat conductors of printed circuit boards or the flat conductors of another flexible circuit.
Flexible circuits have been used in automotive wiring particularly in connection with instrument panels. The complexity of automotive wiring increases yearly resulting in increased use of flexible circuits and the need for an electrical connector for connecting one flexible circuit to another flexible circuit that is economical to manufacture and easy to install when connecting the flexible circuits to each other.